Collapsible stand



Nov. 20, 1951 J. c. PEERY COLLAPSIBLE STAND 2 SHEETS-'SHEET 1 Filed Nov.1, 1947 NVME-NTUR JOHN C. PEERY E7 MJ/M/ 5' TERA/E V5 Nov. 20, 1951- C-PEERY 75,593

COLLAPSIBLE STAND Filed Nov. 1, 194

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Z/ENTQQ N c. PEERY Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE STAND John C. Peery, Milwaukie, Oreg.

Application November 1, 1947, Serial No. 783,485

Claims. (01. 2-0--1.126)

This invention relates to a portable and collapsible stand having aplurality of platforms for supporting persons or objects.

Collapsible structures of the type referred to are not broadly new asthey have been known and used before, and so the general object of thepresent invention is to provide an improved form of construction ofgreater capacity and which isstronger and more durable, and lighter inweight than the conventional forms of structure. Other objects are toprovide a novel arrangement of hinged joints to make the structure foldeasily and compactly, to provide a novel arrangement of braces toprevent collapse of the structure after it is erected, to providesimilar structures which fold in opposite directions and may be hookedtogether to brace each other when erected,

to provide a novel arrangement of offset risers I interconnected byspecial hinges, and to provide a stand which may be erected or collapsedwithout using loose parts.

The invention comprises a plurality of risers preferably of differentheights interconnected by special offset hinges so that adjacent risersare disposed in different vertical planes. preferred embodiment of thepresent construction, there are three vertical risers each having ahorizontal tread or platform hingedly mounted thereon with the risersinterconnected by offset hinges so that one of the risers with itsplatform folds fiat against one side of the riser of intermediate heightwith the other riser and its platform folding over on top of the firstfolded riser and platform. In this way, the entire structure folds intoa bundle having a thickness substantially equal to the combinedthickness of the three platforms and three risers, a width substantiallyequal to the width of the risers and a length slightly greater than thelength of the longest platform.

The ends of the platforms may be cut at an angle with the highestplatform longer than the others so that a plurality of similarstructures may be connected together to form sides of a polygon. Thus,when the stands are used for choir purposes and the like, if two orthree of the structures are joined together in end to end relation theyare thereby disposed angularly in the arc of a circle so that all theoccupants of the stands will have a clear view of a director standingnear the center of the circle.

In order to obtain the greatest advantage from such structures by usinga plurality of them in end to end relation in the manner described, the

risers are preferably hinged to their respective In the platforms tofold in opposite directions in adiacent structures. Means are providedfor se-- curing the adjacent structures together as sections whereby onesection serves to brace another and relieve the stress on the bracingmeans pro-- vided in the individual structures, since as long as thestructures are thus connected together they cannot collapse eitherindividually or collectively;

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description with reference to the accompanyingdrawings illustrating a preferred embodiment; However, it is to beunderstood that the present drawings are for the purpose of illustratingthe principles of the invention and not for the purpose of limiting theinvention. Various changes may be made in the construction andarrangement of parts and all such modifications within the scope of theappended claims are included in the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a plurality of stand sections embodying theprinciples of the invention interconnected to form a segment of apolygon;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation view.of the stand section shown in Figure2; v

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of interconnecting fittings onthe ends of the platforms, taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a folding brace;

Figure 7 is a view showing a first step in folding the structure;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the partially folded structure;

Figure 9 is a sectional view of the partially folded structure taken onthe line 9--9 of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 showing a subsequent foldingstep; and

Figure 11 is a similar sectional view showing all the parts foldedtogether in a compact bundle.

In Figure 1, two stand sections are shown in full lines and a third inphantom to illustrate how'a plurality of the sections may be connectedtogether in end to end relation to form a polygonal shaped choir standor the like disposed in a circular are so that a director standing nearthe center of said circle is readily visible to all the occupants of thestands. The different stand sections are of similar construction butshort risers I3, 14 and I to support the lower step or platform [6, aplurality of intermediate risers I1, l8 and 9 to support theintermediate platform 20, and a plurality of tall risers 2|, 22 and 23to support the top platform 24 Each of these risers has a lower end 25to rest on the floor and an upper end connected by means. of hinges 26with the respective steps or platforms. Braces 21 are provided. on thetall risers 2i and 23-. and on the intermediate riser [-8 in the mannershown in Figure 3 to. lock the risers in vertical positionsperpendicular to the platforms. to prevent collapse of the. structureafter it is erected. Each of the braces 21 comprises a. pair ofchannel-shaped arms 28 and 29. hinged togetherat 30- and pivotallymounted at their extremities on brackets attached to the. risers andplatforms. The arms. 23 and 29 have ends 31., on. one. side of the.joint. 34} adapted to abut when the two arms are straightened out toform a rigid strut, and: a tension spring 32 is provided. on each braceto. hold the arms in this position. The ends of the spring are hooked onstruck up tongues 33 on the two arms in a line offset, from the axis ofthe hinge 30 to give the spring an overcenter action in breaking thejoint. The arrangement is. such that after the joint is broken thespring tends to fold the brace and when the brace is straightened theline of action of the. spring passes overcenter with respect to thehinge axis. of this joint to hold the brace straight and rigid. Thetongue 3.3 on one of the arms. of the brace is preferably located closeto the joint so that. in folding the brace the spring will not beappreciably drawn out of the channels of the arms. Openings 38 areprovided in the risers. to receive the arms of the brace when the standis folded.

The right-hand folding section H is similarly constructed except that.the hinges 2.6 and braces 21 are mounted on the opposite sides of therisers to cause the risers to fold to the rightv in Figures 1 and '7instead of to the left as in the case of the section III.

The ends of the platforms are provided. with book plates 34 and socketplates 35 as shown in Figure 5 to fasten adjacent stand sectionstogether. As viewed in, Figure 1, the left end of each platform isprovided with. a hook 34 and the right end of each platform is providedwith a socket. 35, regardless of whether the stand be a so-calledleft-hand folding stand. or a righthand folding stand, so that anynumber of the stand sections may be fastened together in end to endrelation to increase the number of sides of the polygonal segment shown.in Figure 1. It will be apparent that if any of the braces 21 fail tooperate properly, the. risers in the stands l0 and It would have tolean. toward each other before these sections could fold and collapse,and the risers in the stands [0 and [2 would have to. lean away fromeach other before these sections could fold. and collapse. Thecooperating hook and socket elements 34 and 35 hold the ends of thecorresponding platforms in the stands l0 and H in abutment with eachother to prevent leaning of the risers in either of these two stands,and with respect to the stands I. and [2 they operate as a tensionconnection between the corresponding platforms to prevent separationthereof and leaning of any of the risers. Thus, if left-hand foldingstands and right-hand folding stands are alternated with each other insequence in connecting a plurality of the stand sections together in endto end relation as shown in Figure 1, the resulting structure will beinherently stable and rigid 15 and will possess an additional safetyfactor for stability without depending entirely upon the braces 21. Thebraces 21, however, are adequate in themselves to prevent collapse ofthe structures'.

The risers are connected together in groups by offset hinges as shown inFigures 2 and 4. Thus, the risers l4. and 38 are connected together byhinges 40 at the front edge of riser i3 having an offset angular strap4| to accommodate the thickness of. the riser l4 when the standisfolded. The. risers l3 and, I! and i5 and 19 are connected by similarhinges. The risers l3 and 22 are connected by oppositely disposed hinges42 on the same face of riser 18 at the rear edge thereof having offsetangular straps 43' to accommodate the combined thickness of riser i land platform l6 when the stand is folded. The risers I! and 2| and I9and, 23 are connected by similar hinges 42. All of the hinges used inthe present construction are preferably attached by bolts. rather thanscrews to prevent any possibility of the threads pulling out of the woodor working lose to weaken the structure.

The forms of the hinges and the arrangement of they various members andbraces enable these stands to be folded very compactly in a series of.steps as shown in Figure '7 to 11. In collapsing a stand, it ispreferably first inverted to rest on its platforms as shown in Figure 7,the braces 2,! then being collapsed and all the risers folded over tothe left in unison, in a left-hand folding stand, In collapsing aright-hand folding stand, the risers would fold to the right in Figure7. As the risers fold into a flat position in a lefthand folding stand,the lower and intermediate platforms l6 and 20 are carried to the leftin staggered relation, and when this step of the operation is completedthe various members are disposed as shown. in Figures 8 and 9. The shortrisers l3, I4 and I5 carrying the lower platform 15 are then folded overin the direction of the arrow 45 in Figure 9 to rest upon the centralplatform 20 and its risers IT, IS and I9. The parts then assume theposition shown in Figure 10 where it will be observed that the offsetstraps 4| on the hinges 40 elevate the pivotal axis of these hinges highenough above the top surfaces of intermediate risers l1, l8 and !9 toaccommodate the thickness of the risers I3, l4 and I5 beneath theplatform E6. The final step of the folding operation is thenaccomplished by folding the top platform 24 with its risers 25, 22 and23 in the direction of the arrow 46 to lay these parts on top of theplatform [6, it being observed that the offset straps 43 on the hinges42 are long enough to elevate the axis of these hinges to the level ofthe top exposed surface of the platform I 6.

The completely folded stand is shown in sec.- tional view in Figure 11,the intermediate platform 20 being on the bottom, the short risers l3,l4 and I5 being disposed Within the height of the offset portion ofhinge strap 4| and these risers together with the bottom platform I6being disposed within the height of the offset portion of the hingestrap 43. The offset relation of the risers shown in Figure 4 therebypermits the parts to fold compactly without any waste space to make abundle having a thickness equal to the combined thickness of the threeplatforms and three sets of risers. A number of such stand sectionssufficient to accommodate a relatively large number of people can thusbe carried in a small space and in individual bundles of no greatweight. The dimensions and proportions of the parts may be varied fordifferent purposes as the present construction isalso suited for avariety of other uses such as displaying merchandise and the like.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent 1s:

1. A collapsible stand comprising a plurality of stand sections havingvertical risers, said risers having offset hinge connections disposingthem in offset vertical planes when the stand is erected, and horizontalplatforms hingedly connected with each of said risers, the hingedconnections between the platforms and the risers folding in oppositedirections in adjoining sections, and means to connect the platforms ofsaid sections together in end to end relation so that the opposed hingeaction in adjoining sections serves to brace one section againstanother, said risers being foldable against the platforms, and therisers and platforms being then foldable to achieve a compact tierassembly.

2. A collapsible stand comprising three platforms, one platform beingintermediate between two outside platforms, and a riser hingedlyconnected with each of said platforms, the riser on the intermediateplatform being hingedlyconnected on one edge with the riser on one ofsaid outside platforms and hingedly connected on the other edge with theriser on the other outside platform, said risers having offset hingeconnections disposing them in offset vertical planes when the stand iserected, said stand being collapsible by operation of said hingedconnections by folding said risers in parallel relation with and againstthe platforms and folding said outside platforms and risers over in tierarrangement with said central platform and riser to form a compactbundle of said parts.'

3. A collapsible stand comprising a plurality of risers hinged together,a platform hingedly mounted on each of said risers, said risers havingoffset hinge connections disposing them in offset vertical planes whenthe stand is erected and in offset horizontal planes when the risers arefolded against the platforms, said platforms being disposed in parallelrelation to the risers upon col- ,1 lapsing said risers fiat againstsaid platforms,

the risers and platforms being then foldable so as to lie in compactarrangement with'all the risers and platforms in a single tier.

4. A collapsible stand comprising at least three risers hinged together,said risers having offset hinge connections disposing them in offsetvertical planes when the stand is erected, a platform hingedly mountedon each of said risers and foldable against said riser, the hingesconnecting the first and second risers being offset to accommodate thethickness of said first riser, the hinges connecting the second andthird risers being offset to accommodate the thickness of the thirdriser and its platform, said risers and platforms being foldable so asto lie in compact arrangement with all the risers and platforms in asingle tier.

5. A collapsible stand comprising a plurality of risers hinged togetherfor disposition in offset vertical planes when the stand is erected, aplatform hingedly mounted on each of said risers, said risers beingconnected by hinges oflset to accommodate the thickness of the partsconnected thereto by each such hinge, said risers being foldable againstthe platforms and the risers and platforms being then foldable toachieve a compact tier assembly.

JOHN C. PEERY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 157,232 Simmons Nov. 24, 1874435,604 Hasselman Sept. 2, 1890 1,125,194 Sigmund Jan. 19, 19151,320,310 Brady Oct. 28, 1919 1,760,801 Wetzel May 2'7, 1930 1,818,428Paysen Aug. 11, 1931

